Structures, history and hope: A case study of mechanisms that maintain advantage in education

International partners must always realise that local education systems interact with local social environments. Local perspectives are active agents in shaping the effectiveness of educational change. Underlying cultural, symbolic and social structures set the elastic limits of change and impact the formulation and implementation of policy arrangements. This paper evaluates the results of educational reforms in Samoa aimed at changing the patterns of advantage in the education system. It examines the social and political environment in which the reform package was developed and implemented focusing on the dispositions of different social actors. It analyses the lack of change in the patterns of advantage. It argues that underlying social assumptions meant key change options were not included in the package resulting in the reproduction of the structure of inequity. Formulating effective educational change strategies requires the partners to link technical developments to change in the replication of social and symbolic environments

Focus on Nature 12

I have 4 illustrations exhibited, catalogue 48, 49, 50, 51, the maximum allowed, and am the only exhibitor to do so., One of the images, Carboniferous Faunascape, (48) is borne out of a previous project, in conjunction with Cambridge University, on the tetrapod Pederpes finneyae. This project was used for the Japanese State TV production Miracle Earth, Episode 2, ‘On to the Land.’ The other illustrations are The End of the Cretaceous (50); a consultative research project for Yale University, Nephila claripes (51) and Latrodectus mactans (52), both produced for the 2003 Bluebonnet-nominated book Spiders and their Websites, (Time Warner, New York) in conjunction with award-winning science writer Marjorie Facklam

Blucher Education Proceedings: 'Pictures of New Knowledge: A Dilemma of Fact or Fantasy' March 2015, Vol. 1 No. 2

A revised second edition of a paper first published as part of the proceedings of the Second International Conference of Art, Illustration and Visual Culture in Infant and Primary Education, University of Aveiro, Portugal, July 2012. Blucher are an online international publisher of peer reviewed papers related to all things educational. The paper examines the visual language of illustration in young audience education and how scientific themes might be compromised by a conflict of integrity for the truth and objectivity versus duplicity for prostration and acquiescence

A modified all-in-one DMSO-activating and base releasing reagent for the Parikh-Doering-type benzylic oxidation reaction

The Parikh-Doering reaction, an example of the series of DMSO-mediated selective oxidation named reaction family, finds ongoing use in natural product synthesis when mild oxidative reaction conditions are required. The original conditions require the use of Py-SO3 and NEt3 along with DMSO and DCM. As part of our ongoing interest in sulfating agents, we recently disclosed the novel structure of tributylsulfoammonium betaine (TBSAB) that has a formal N-S bond (not dative) and may indicate that other N(sp3) amine-SO3 complexes have been misassigned. Herein, we explore a commercial sulfating agent, triethylamine-sulfur trioxide complex, as an all-in-one sulfation and base releasing reagent for a modified Parikh-Doering reaction. Single crystal X-ray crystallography further confirms our hypothesis than triethylamine-sulfur trioxide complex exists as triethylsulfoammonium betaine (TESAB). Employing TESAB as an all-in-one reagent, a range of primary and secondary alcohols were screened for competency. Reactivity was observed for the first time with 1) a non Py-SO3 sulfating agent and 2) without the need for additional base. Moderate to good yields of aldehydes and ketones can be prepared in an atom-efficient improvement with concomitant removal of toxic pyridine by-products

Psychosocial impact of undergoing prostate cancer screening for men with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

OBJECTIVES: To report the baseline results of a longitudinal psychosocial study that forms part of the IMPACT study, a multi-national investigation of targeted prostate cancer (PCa) screening among men with a known pathogenic germline mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. PARTICPANTS AND METHODS: Men enrolled in the IMPACT study were invited to complete a questionnaire at collaborating sites prior to each annual screening visit. The questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics and the following measures: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Impact of Event Scale (IES), 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36), Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer, Cancer Worry Scale-Revised, risk perception and knowledge. The results of the baseline questionnaire are presented. RESULTS: A total of 432 men completed questionnaires: 98 and 160 had mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, respectively, and 174 were controls (familial mutation negative). Participants' perception of PCa risk was influenced by genetic status. Knowledge levels were high and unrelated to genetic status. Mean scores for the HADS and SF-36 were within reported general population norms and mean IES scores were within normal range. IES mean intrusion and avoidance scores were significantly higher in BRCA1/BRCA2 carriers than in controls and were higher in men with increased PCa risk perception. At the multivariate level, risk perception contributed more significantly to variance in IES scores than genetic status. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to report the psychosocial profile of men with BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations undergoing PCa screening. No clinically concerning levels of general or cancer-specific distress or poor quality of life were detected in the cohort as a whole. A small subset of participants reported higher levels of distress, suggesting the need for healthcare professionals offering PCa screening to identify these risk factors and offer additional information and support to men seeking PCa screening

Prevalence and architecture of de novo mutations in developmental disorders.

The genomes of individuals with severe, undiagnosed developmental disorders are enriched in damaging de novo mutations (DNMs) in developmentally important genes. Here we have sequenced the exomes of 4,293 families containing individuals with developmental disorders, and meta-analysed these data with data from another 3,287 individuals with similar disorders. We show that the most important factors influencing the diagnostic yield of DNMs are the sex of the affected individual, the relatedness of their parents, whether close relatives are affected and the parental ages. We identified 94 genes enriched in damaging DNMs, including 14 that previously lacked compelling evidence of involvement in developmental disorders. We have also characterized the phenotypic diversity among these disorders. We estimate that 42% of our cohort carry pathogenic DNMs in coding sequences; approximately half of these DNMs disrupt gene function and the remainder result in altered protein function. We estimate that developmental disorders caused by DNMs have an average prevalence of 1 in 213 to 1 in 448 births, depending on parental age. Given current global demographics, this equates to almost 400,000 children born per year